Cracked Hourglass
by robsbobs28
Summary: The war was over. They had lost and all her friends were dead. The Death Eaters had taken over, snuffing out what was left of the good in the world. All hope was lost until Hermione discovered an unopened letter that Dumbledore had addressed to her. His letter spoke of the Infinitum watch secure deep within the Ministry. It was a second chance, her last chance to save their future.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! This is my first fic that I'm publishing so please be kind. I also promise to update as frequently as I can but as a busy college student, I might not be able to as often. I've got the next couple of chapters to this story written already, they're just going through the editing process and when I get those finished, I will publish them. Please review and let me know what you think!**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. The characters belong to JK Rowling. The only thing that is mine is the plot for this story._**

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Chapter 1: Despair

**April 17th, 2000**

Hermione sat on the edge of the old creaking bed, her eyes staring at a worn out picture of her and her friends on Christmas Eve a few years ago. Everyone in the picture was smiling and laughing, all in some ugly Christmas sweater, drinking hot chocolate or warm eggnog. It was a peaceful time and the group of friends were reminiscing about past times and memories. That night had been perfect.

It was the last time everyone was together and truly happy, no one having a single worry on their minds. That was before the the Dark Lord returned. That was before the war began and everything had gone to hell. A stray tear slid down her cheek before dropping onto the center of the picture. The memories were still too fresh…

"_RON!" she screamed as she ran towards the redheaded boy who had just saved her life. He had pushed her out of the way from the oncoming killing curse shot from Yaxley's wand. _

_The tears fell from her eyes as she shot a curse at the man, a curse that sent him flying across the landscape that the mighty castle once stood proudly on. Once the Death Eater was out of sight, Hermione turned her focus on her friend and kneeled by his side. The young Weasley boy just stared on with cold, lifeless eyes._

_Hermione softly brushed the hair from his face and used her fingers to slip his eyes shut as she started to cry, unable to hold back her tears. She held Ron's hand, her voice cracking as she spoke. "You Idiot. Why did you give your own life to save mine? You were supposed to live,"_

_She heard the sounds of battle creeping closer and closer to her and she realized that she needed to go. Hermione began frantically looking around for the direction the Death Eaters were coming from as different colored sparks shot from distant wands her way. It was then she realized that she needed to find Harry. The Death Eaters had managed to gain the upper hand. She had to know Harry was still alive and that he was okay. Leaning down, she kissed Ron's forehead. "I'm sorry, I have to go."_

_Standing, she ran through the castle ruins, keeping out of sight, her eyes peeled and alert for any traces of Harry. However she was stopped short when her eyes landed on Tonks and Remus, crushed under some fallen rubble from the castle's walls. When her eyes landed on their still forms, she froze, a short gasp leaving her lips._

"_No," she whispered with horrified eyes as she ran towards them. She was fighting yet again to hold back her tears._

_Using her wand, she removed the pieces of rubble off of them. Then, using her hands, she dusted them off in an attempt to see them more clearly to assess their conditions. With shaky fingers, she checked their necks for a pulse. Her heart caught in her throat as she felt Tonks' neck for a pulse and was saddened for the woman didn't have one. Remus, however had a pulse, though it was very faint and fading fast._

_Remus coughed then, waking up from his unconscious state. Blood was pooling in his mouth and Hermione guessed that her friend was suffering from internal injuries that had been caused by getting crushed under the rubble. Assessing his state, Hermione knew that his injuries were too severe and that her former professor would not survive. She blinked at him with tears in her eyes. Her mind was screaming at her, telling her that in his condition that Remus wouldn't survive. However, her heart was telling her to be optimistic and hold onto hope. Though, slim as his chances were, maybe Hermione could pass her hope onto Remus._

"_H-Hermione," he managed to choke out, his eyes trying to adjust to everything around them._

"_I'm here, Remus." she said as she knelt down beside him._

"_Tonks?" he asked with a small glimmer of hope in his eyes. He and Nymphadora had only been married a short while, but in that time they had managed to have their own child, a son named Teddy._

_Hermione frowned and shook her head. She watched as that little spark of hope faded and turned to grief as tears began to fill his eyes. "I'm sorry. It's going to be alright, I'm going to get you out of here and to safety," Hermione said through her own tears, trying not to choke._

_But before she could do anything, Remus lightly grabbed her hand, preventing her from doing so. "There's no time, you know as well as I do that I'm not getting out of here."_

"_Of course there is, Teddy needs you." she said sadly, her voice cracking slightly. She couldn't watch another one of her friends die. They had all lost so much already._

"_And Harry needs **YOU**. You have to find him Hermione," he said sternly, coughing again, blood sputtering out of his mouth as he did so._

"_I'm not going to leave you here to die." she said as tears fell from her eyes now, squeezing his hand to reassure him that she was still there, that she wouldn't leave him._

_He gave her hand a light squeeze in return as he looked into her eyes. "You have to. My injuries are too severe, I'll never make it."_

"_Please don't do this," she pleaded with him as a stray curse hit the rubble near them. The Death Eaters were closing in, it wouldn't be long before they found them both and finished them off._

"_They're coming, you need to go." he said sternly. "I'll keep them occupied long enough for you to get away and find Harry. You need to stay alive so you can lead the others to victory. You've always been the brightest witch of your age, I know you can do this. And Harry will be with you to help you. Now go." he said, as he was thrown into a coughing fit once more. He was slowly deteriorating and there was nothing the young witch could do to stop it or slow it down._

_She nodded sadly before standing once more, her fingers grazing his one last time before she ran in the opposite direction of the approaching Death Eaters. Hermione was only able to see from a distance as Bellatrix dealt the final blow to Remus, killing him. The witch's cackle of amusement rang in Hermione's ears as her blood boiled. As much as she wanted to attack Bellatrix, Hermione knew she would never win. It would surely be an unfair fight, but she also remembered Remus' parting words to her. Harry needed her, the others that survived would need her. Now wasn't the time to act on impulse, she had to remain strong for the ones that would need her in the end._

_Stepping away from her hiding place, Hermione went in search of her best friend. Her mind was scrambled by various thoughts and emotions as everything around her was in shambles. She didn't focus on fighting as she ran, dodging curses that were coming her way. Her only focus was on finding Harry. When she found him, she thought her heart stopped beating. His body lay in a crumpled heap, covered in blood and dirt, unmoving as his wand lay snapped beside him._

"HARRY_!" she screamed as she ran to the boy who had been her best friend since their first year at Hogwarts._

_Voldemort was nowhere to be seen. Once she reached Harry, she was at his side, pulling him into her arms. Her eyes were searching for injuries. Hermione was becoming frantic and she was losing her focus. She couldn't think straight and her brain was running a hundred miles a minute.__ Harry's glasses were broken and she frantically felt him for a pulse. There wasn't one. She started sobbing as she pulled him closer. This couldn't be happening, they were supposed to win the war, not lose it. __Hermione felt like her world had just crumbled underneath her feet and that she was in some nightmare that would never end. She sobbed as she clung to Harry's deceased body. That was when someone grabbed her shoulders and started pulling her away from Harry. It was Neville._

"_Hermione, we have to go!" he yelled at her as he pulled her away from Harry but she refused and still tried to hold on._

"_No! I'm not leaving him!" she screeched back._

"_You're going to die if you stay here! Please we have to go! You can't stay here! I will drag you if I have to!" he said, as his arms wrapped firmly around her as he began ripping her away from Harry's body._

_That was when her mind kicked back into focus as she vaguely remembered the words Remus spoke to her: that everyone would need her. And he was right. She nodded, barely regaining her composure, making the decision before she changed her mind. "Alright, let's go."_

_The two broke into a run as they ran to catch up with the remaining survivors of the war who were waiting in front of them. Once they caught up with the group, curses started getting thrown at them as people screamed, everyone trying to reach the Forbidden forest. __Hermione looked back as she saw Voldemort hold his hands up to stop his people from going after them. "That's enough!" his voice boomed loudly to his followers._

"_We'll let them go for now. But at this time my loyal followers, let us celebrate our victory! For tonight we have won!"_

A light knock on her door disrupted her thoughts. "Hermione?" Luna's sweet voice asked.

"Yeah?" the girl said, wiping the tears off her face and slipping the picture back into her pocket.

"Neville and the others are back." she merely stated.

"Right," she said as she stood, fixing her clothes. It had been almost 2 years since the war, and ever since they had been on the run, hiding underground and moving from place to place to not get caught by Voldemort and his Death Eaters that now had control over everything. Hermione and Luna walked back out into the main room where everyone was gathered. Out of the war, there was only their small group of survivors: herself, Neville, Luna, Draco and his mother who had turned to the their side during the war, Hagrid, and George Weasley. Everyone else was killed at the hands of the Dark Lord. Walking into the room, heads turned to face her as she looked to Neville, Draco and George who had just gotten back from their task to scout out a new place for them to move to in the night and to gather what they could as to what was going on above them.

"What did you find?" Hermione asked Neville. She had become the person they turned to for everything because she was smart and she had been on the run with Harry and Ron before the war. Hermione had experience that they didn't have. She knew how to survive and was resourceful.

"Voldemort has taken the Ministry in the States. The Death Eaters have destroyed everything. Any people that were found were tortured and killed. We found an abandoned place in Wales. It was hard to find, but we didn't see any Death Eaters around. With our combined wards, we should be safe for the time being," he explained.

Hermione and the others nodded. "Good. Then we leave tonight, make sure we leave no traces we were here." she stated before turning to head back into her room when George tapped her shoulder.

Turning to face him, she saw that his hand was outstretched containing an envelope. "We ran into Fawkes on our way to finding a new place. He wouldn't leave us alone, had this letter in his mouth and kept pestering us until we took it. It's addressed to you, it's Dumbledore's seal."

Confusion wrapped around her features as she took the letter from George and examined the front. The neat script was definitely Dumbledore's, there was no doubt about it. However one question stuck in her mind as she opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. _What had Dumbledore known of the war and their current situation before his death that they didn't?_


	2. Chapter 2

**_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. Everything belongs to JK Rowling. _**

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Chapter 2: The Letter

After George had given her Dumbledore's letter, Hermione thanked him before retreating back to the confines of her room. She sat on her bed and stared at the opened envelope with Dumbledore's seal. The young witch wasn't sure what was in store for her in the letter but she was curious what the wise wizard wrote to her. Willing herself to read the letter, Hermione slid out the neatly folded parchment from the envelope and unfolded it, taking in the familiarity of Dumbledore's neat script. Then she began to read the letter:

_Miss Granger,_

_If you have received this letter, then that must mean that the war has ended and that Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters have taken over. You're probably wondering how I came to know this information before my untimely death._

_The truth is, I did not know anything of what the future would hold but I did come to understand that Voldemort claiming victory was a possibility. This is the reason for my letter Miss Granger. I knew from the very first moment you stepped into Hogwarts that you would be the one that would take care of Harry through this whole ordeal, for you are indeed the brightest witch of your age. If anyone were to survive the upcoming war, it would be you._

_That is why I am leaving the future in your capable hands. Within the Ministry, there is a powerful artifact residing within the Time Room. It is called the Infinitum Watch and it is more powerful than any time-turner ever created. It cannot be destroyed nor recreated. It is the only artifact of its kind. Whoever possesses it has the power to alter the events of the future much like the time-turners you are familiar with. However, the Infinitum Watch doesn't abide by the same rules as a time-turner. The holder of the watch has the ability to change the past without all the repercussions that are associated with the standard time-turner. However, I am not saying that there are no repercussions. Using the watch brings its own consequences but you won't know what they are until you encounter them for yourself. If the Dark Lord was victorious in the war, then there is no doubt he will be keeping close eyes on the artifact. He will do anything to keep the watch from those that threaten his power for if it were to fall in someone else's hands, they could easily rewrite the future._

_This will be no easy task, I can assure you. It might even be the hardest you have ever encountered and you have endured many difficult tasks over the years, tasks that have put your life on the line. What I am asking of you now is no different. However, I trust you with such because I know you can succeed and that you will be the key to saving us all. And one more thing? After you get the Infinitum Watch, keep it safe. Always carry it with you and don't trust anyone who you may encounter. The world's future hangs in the balance._

_Sincerely,  
__Albus Dumbledore_

After she had finished reading the letter, Hermione just stared at the words on the page. How could Dumbledore entrust her with something so difficult? Surely she wouldn't make it into the Ministry without being killed on the spot. It was crawling with Death Eaters and Dementors. The old wizard hadn't even bothered to leave her any instruction, instruction that could have been very useful. She rubbed her forehead, not having the slightest clue of where to start. However, for the time being, she would ponder the old wizard's words. Right now, she had to gather her things and prepare to move with the others to the new safe house. She had decided that once they were there, she would make a choice: to act on what Dumbledore mentioned in the letter, or remain on the run forever.

Hermione and the others had reached the safe house in Wales in the early hours of the morning. They worked together to set up their wards that were sure to keep them hidden for the time being. By the time they were finished, everyone was exhausted and had little energy to do anything more. Hermione had offered to take the first watch so the others could get some sleep. Sleep these days was few and far in between. They just did what they could to survive. It had been this way since they lost the war.

Hermione was sitting in a chair on the porch, taking in the night sky. She couldn't really remember the last time she had actually seen the stars. It was peaceful, quiet. Although she was on the lookout for possible threats, her mind was sidetracked. She couldn't stop replaying the words of Dumbledore's letter over and over inside her head. Hermione knew she had to do something. She was tired of running and hiding. She was ready to fight. She wanted to make things right and write the future the way it was supposed to be. Neville tapped his finger lightly on the wood of the door frame to get her attention.

Hermione jumped, not realizing that she had company. On instinct her body stiffened almost immediately and looked over. When she saw that it was just Neville, her body relaxed. "Couldn't sleep?" she asked.

The boy took a seat in the chair beside her. "No, couldn't get comfortable. So I thought I'd keep you company,"

"Thanks," she said with a slight smile. She had been staring at the picture of her and her friends again, but at Neville's arrival she slipped it back into her pocket.

"I miss them, all of them." Neville stated as he glanced at the photo as she slid it back into her pocket. He turned his head to the night sky and began looking up at the stars.

"I do too. I think about them every day," Hermione admitted sadly.

"We should've won the war. We would have won the war if-" he started but Hermione finished the sentence for him.

"If Voldemort didn't have a horcrux that no one knew about. I don't even think Dumbledore knew about the last one. He kept it hidden well." she stated.

"And we lost because of it. No one saw it coming. Our friends and family were all killed because of what we didn't know. And now there's no way to fix it," his voice trailed off as he leaned back in his chair, running his hand through his hair as he let out a sigh.

"That's not true. There is- there is a way to fix everything." The words came out of her mouth before she could stop them. Before Neville could ask what she meant, Hermione had already reached into her pocket and pulled out the letter Dumbledore had left her.

Handing it to Neville, she watched as his eyes scanned over the parchment, taking everything in. He stayed silent for a few minutes before he spoke, "Blimey Hermione! Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

She shrugged. "Because it won't matter. If this is true and this Infinitum Watch actually exists, how do you propose I go about getting it Neville? There are Death Eaters everywhere, not to mention the countless Dementors surrounding the Ministry. I'll never make it past the gate." she explained.

"Then don't do it alone, we'll go with you, all of us." he stated and Hermione could see the hope he held in his eyes. It was hope that their future could somehow be saved, that their world could be saved.

Hermione shook her head. "I can't ask you to do that Neville. I won't ask you to put your lives in danger for something that we don't even know works."

"But we won't know until we try. Hermione, this is our last shot at fixing things. We'd be fools not to take this chance. I know we'd all rather risk our lives and die trying than die knowing we had a shot to fix everything and we didn't take it," he explained.

She pondered his words for a few minutes before finally nodding, letting out a sigh. "You're right, Neville. We shouldn't give up. If this is our last chance to make things right, then we should take it."

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**Hey guys! With all the follows I've been getting today, I decided to treat you guys with another chapter! You guys are giving me confidence in my writing so thank you for following my story! As always please read and review! I'd love to know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: All the characters and themes belong to JK Rowling, their rightful owner. The only thing that is mine is the plot for the story._

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Chapter 3: The Ministry

**April 23rd, 2000**

The next morning was when Hermione told everyone about the letter,

_"So Dumbledore left this to you?" George asked after Hermione had finished explaining the letter that was given to her._

_"Yes. However, I'm not entirely positive how much of this letter is actually true. It seems like a lot of speculation, especially about an artifact that I've never even heard of let alone seen." Hermione said as she stood on one side of the room, parchment in her hand._

_"Albus Dumbledore was a very smart wizard." Hagrid stated. It was the first time he had really spoken since the war. He had lost some of his closest friends and comrades that day. They all had. And since the war, the former groundskeeper hadn't been himself. "He woudn'ta written somethin' like this to you if it wasn' true."_

_"Hagrid's right." Draco stated from his spot next to his mother. "Dumbledore had to have known about the watch to write a letter about it. What he's saying must be true. We need to get our hands on the watch if we have any chance of changing things."_

_"Agreed." Everyone said in unison. They wanted this to end just as much as Hermione did. It was the only option left._

_Hermione nodded before looking at the others. "You don't have to help. I can do this on my own, that's why Dumbledore addressed the letter to me."_

_Neville placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze and a smile. "We're not going to let you do this alone, Hermione. End of story. We're in this together,"_

_The young witch could only nod at his words. There was nothing she could say to stop them. Luna then looked to Hermione, eager to get started. "Where do we start?"_

Over the next few days, the group worked out the plan to break into the Ministry to steal the watch. Not everyone was going, just Hermione, George, Luna and Neville. The others would stay behind as backup just in case things went south, which there was a great chance things would. The four of them had scouted out the Ministry and they had figured out that some of the Death Eaters would be gone with Voldemort in the states to snuff out what was left of the rebellion. However, the dementors still posed a significant problem. They were guarding the Ministry and the four of them would have to work together with their perfected patronus charms if they had any chance of getting past them.

The four of them were standing outside, a distance from the Ministry as they hid within the trees nearby, out of sight. "We all remember the plan?" Neville asked everyone.

They all nodded in agreement and Hermione handed each of them a thin bracelet to wear around their wrists. "These will get us past the wards on the building. Do not for any reason take them off. Once we've secured the watch, we get out of there as quickly as possible. Is that clear?"

Everyone nodded and watched for an opening. They were about to move when a familiar maniacal laugh filled the empty air. Apparating before the gates was none other than Bellatrix Lestrange. The witch had a skip in her step as she made her way through the Ministry's gates and inside the building. Hermione shuddered at the prospect of running into Bellatrix after they were inside. Not only had the woman killed countless friends including George's brother and Remus, the vile woman had also inflicted scars upon Hermione, scars that would be there forever.

"Let's hope we can avoid running into Bellatrix, yeah?" Neville asked as he swallowed nervously, everyone nodding in agreement.

"Are we ready then?" Luna asked. She, like everyone else, wanted to get this over with.

They each nodded and took a deep breath. They joined their hands and apparated directly inside the Ministry. The long corridors were all too familiar to them, as they were the same ones they had encountered in their 5th year. They stuck together as a group as they walked through the long halls, wands drawn as they were all on high alert. Everything was eerily silent as they moved. Luckily, they hadn't been spotted by the dementors but there were a couple close calls with a few of them roaming the halls. The group had barely managed to hide in time. It didn't take long after the coast was clear for them to locate the door to the Time room. "There it is," Hermione whispered as she pointed to the door.

They had begun to walk towards the door when a curse shot out, missing George's head by a few inches as they all ducked to avoid it. Whipping around with wands drawn, they faced their assailant. "It's been awhile. I was beginning to wonder when I'd run into you lot again!" Bellatrix laughed, a deadly look in her eyes. She used her finger and brushed it across her wand. "It's too bad I have to kill you now. The chase has been quite fun in my opinion,"

Then she shrugged and aimed her wand straight at them as a couple more Death Eaters joined her side, aiming their wands as well. "Oh well."

There were more Death Eaters present at the Ministry than the group had originally thought. "Hermione? What do we do?" Neville whispered nervously as his hand shook slightly but continued to firmly grasp his wand. He refused to give in to the fear he was feeling. He had come a long way since his first year but he was still scared, they all were.

Hermione swallowed nervously as well. She hadn't anticipated running into this many Death Eaters at the Ministry. She had thought that the majority of them would remain at their master's side as he took the states. She had been wrong. "Run."

Curses quickly rang out through the corridor in both directions as the group began sprinting to the Time Room. Once they were inside, they quickly shut the doors as Luna and George used their magic to bar them shut and stand guard, potentially shielding them inside. It would buy them a little time at least. Hopefully it would be long enough for Hermione and Neville to locate and secure the watch. "Bloody hell, what does this Infinitum Watch even look like Hermione?" George yelled as he kept his wand trained on the door.

"I don't know!" Hermione yelled beginning to panic as she searched one half of the massive Time Room. "Dumbledore didn't think to mention that in his letter!"

"Would it happen to look something like this?" Neville asked a minute later, standing on the other side of the room, his hand holding up a shiny, silver banded watch. Inside it held the brightest of light and what looked to be grains of sand swirling like a storm through the middle. It reminded Hermione of some sort of hourglass. There was heavy banging on the door to the room as George and Luna were beginning to lose their hold over it. It wouldn't be long before the door finally caved in from the pressure and they would be ambushed.

Hermione walked to where Neville was standing with the watch. She focused in on its beauty for she had never seen anything like it before. "This is it, it has to be."

Their mild distraction was enough for the doors to fly open, a burst that sent Luna and George flying back and skidding across the hard concrete floor. Hermione's head whipped around to see Bellatrix and the other Death Eaters from before standing in the doorway. "You didn't think you could get away that easily, did you?" Bellatrix smirked before her eyes landed on the watch that Neville had grasped in his hand. Her smirk quickly faded and turned to something dark and serious before her eyes turned on the Death Eaters beside her.

"Kill them all. Do not let them get away with that watch." she snapped before turning back to face them, her attention solely focused on the watch in Neville's hand as a curse shot out from the tip of her wand.

Hermione easily stepped in front of Neville, using her wand to shield them both from the curse coming their way. At that point George and Luna had recoiled from their tumble and were advancing towards the other Death Eaters in the room. The four of them could only shield themselves from the oncoming attacks thrown their way as they were slowly backed further and further into a corner. They had only managed to take out two of the Death Eaters, and were now matched 4 to 4. The Death Eaters had the clear advantage here as they had suspected the group's arrival. That meant it wouldn't be long before others showed up to join the fight. The four of them were too busy defending themselves, that they had failed to notice Bellatrix aiming a curse at Neville.

Luckily, George had managed to catch the curse from the corner of his eye. "Neville get down!"

The Weasley twin lunged at Neville and tackled him to the ground, saving him from the curse that would have killed him. The green light of the curse blasted into the wall where he had been standing only moments ago. Unfortunately when they fell, the watch had slipped out of Neville's hand and slid across the concrete floor away from them. They both looked up as Bellatrix began striding over to the watch lying on the ground.

"Hermione the watch!" He shouted at his friend over the sounds of flying curses and blasting walls. Hermione was the closest to where the watch was.

Her attention solely focused on the watch lying in front of her, Bellatrix reached out her hand to claim it but Hermione shot a stunning spell at the witch before she had the chance to lay a finger on it. "Stupefy!" she yelled.

The spell hit Bellatrix dead on and sent her flying back. The witch would only remain stunned for a moment or two before she'd be free to attack once more. Hermione took that as her chance to run straight for the watch. When she reached it, she grabbed it and held it firm in her grasp. Hermione must have tripped something in the watch because her ears picked up on a clicking noise. Then everything started to fade and noise began to drown out. Time was stopping all around her. The other three had turned to face their friend and noticed her figure fading. This wasn't what they had planned. They were all supposed to go together. Her form faded away in that moment as Hermione Granger vanished from her own time. Her world had been consumed in darkness and she could only hope that somehow she'd be able to fix everything with the chance they had been given.

When everything came back into view, Hermione found that she was standing in the busy streets of London, sidewalks overflowing with people bustling about their own business. No one had seen her arrive. Readjusting her position and straightening out her clothes, Hermione clasped the watch securely around her wrist so she wouldn't lose it. She wasn't entirely sure where to go or what year she found herself in, but Hermione knew there would be one person in this time she could turn to. He would understand her situation and know how to help her. The wizard she was off to find was none other than Albus Dumbledore.

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**Chapter three is up! I hope you like it! As always read and review! I'd love to know what you think! A big shout out for the people who are following my story, I really appreciate it!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four is finally up! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday! I know I did! Please enjoy and PM me if you have any questions regarding my story, I'd be happy to answer them.**

_**Disclaimer: All the characters belong to JK Rowling, their rightful owner.**_

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Chapter 4: The Order

**April 23rd, 1980**

Once Hermione began walking, it wasn't long before she found a newspaper stand with the morning's _Daily Prophet. _Picking up a copy, she examined it to make sure that she was in the time she needed to be in. Her eyes scanned over the article as she began her walk once more. The First Wizarding War had already begun and Voldemort was quickly rising to power and gathering more followers. The date on the paper read April 1980. Taking a deep breath, Hermione was hit by the sudden realization that she only had a little over a year to correct her future. Too preoccupied by her thoughts, she stopped paying attention to where she was walking and before she knew it, Hermione collided with another person who was walking in the opposite direction.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going!" she apologized quickly.

The man she had run into simply chuckled and waved her off not giving her a glance. He was kneeling on the ground picking up some papers he had dropped when Hermione had carelessly ran into him. "It's quite alright. No harm done,"

"Here, let me help you," she offered before kneeling on the ground herself to help the man pick up his fallen papers.

Gathering up the papers and straightening them out, Hermione extended her hand to give them back to the man. Her brown eyes aligned with green ones and she nearly dropped the papers she had been holding back on the ground. The man looked to be her age with light sandy brown hair with a couple of scars marring his face that seemed to be fading. There was no doubt that this was indeed a young Remus Lupin. Hermione was staring in awe, mind running a hundred miles a minute as different thoughts circled her brain. She very well knew that running into her old friends was a possibility considering the urgency of her task. However, she never anticipated running into one of them so soon. Seeing Remus alive and breathing when in her time he was dead made her heart flutter. She had never been so happy to see anyone in her life.

Remus must have caught her intense staring because he cleared his throat before speaking once more. "Miss? Are you alright?"

His smooth voice pulled her out of her thoughts and she nodded, handing him back his papers. "Yes, I'm quite alright. I'm sorry for staring. You just look a lot like someone from home," she said with a bit of sadness in her tone.

Hermione couldn't help but think of the older Remus back in her time that bore the emotional scars of many years of torment and grief. Seeing this younger version of Remus, completely innocent and unaware of the things to come, it made her heart ache. Hopefully, she'd be able to alter these events of the past, alterations that would ultimately prevent him and many others many years of suffering down the road. The young witch was determined to fix everything no matter the cost, even if it meant giving up her own life to alter the future for the greater good.

"Ah, I see. I don't hear that too often but thank you for helping me gather my papers. I'll be on my way now," he said, giving her a soft smile before walking past her and continuing on his way.

All thoughts she had of going to see Dumbledore at Hogwarts were pushed to the back of her mind upon seeing Remus. Hermione guessed that wherever he was going, it was to see James, Lily and Sirius. That would be her opening. They were all apart of the original Order of the Phoenix. If Hermione was able to find them by trailing Remus, then there was no doubt in her mind that she would eventually run into Dumbledore and would be able to explain her situation. She just had to make sure she didn't get caught.

Hermione had followed Remus through town and ended up at 12 Grimmauld Place. She made sure to keep her distance as to not be spotted. She watched as Remus approached the familiar entrance and knocked firmly on the door. A few moments later, the door opened revealing whom Hermione assumed to be young Sirius Black as he embraced Remus with a bright smile on his face before gesturing for his friend to come inside. After the door had closed, Hermione decided to take her chance to apparate inside the estate. It would be risky considering she had no way of hiding herself but it was a risk she had to take. Taking a deep breath, Hermione apparated into the estate.

Looking around, the vast estate was dimly lit, the only source of light coming from the dining room downstairs. Everything was clean and organized for the most part. A sense of nostalgia washed over Hermione as she took everything as it was. Voices coming from downstairs gathered her previously occupied attention. For the time being, she remained where she was, straining her ears to listen in on the conversation. From where she was, Hermione was only to make out pieces of the conversation.

"The war's getting worse. The Dark Lord's gaining more support every day. It won't be long before he has enough power to take the Ministry." she heard Remus say.

"Not to mention that no one knows who the Death Eater's real identities are." another man said.

"If we don't try to intervene soon, the whole world will fall at his feet. There has to be something we-" the man was cut off by a female's voice.

"No. If we intervene, we'll all surely be killed. We will wait until Dumbledore returns from the Ministry before we do anything rash," the woman explained.

Wanting to hear more of the conversation, Hermione slowly began making her way down the stairs. When she reached the bottom few steps, one of them made a long, agonizing creak. Apparently the noise had been loud enough to disturb the portrait of Walburga Black because her eyes snapped open and the vile woman began screeching insults almost immediately. "Stains of dishonor, filthy half-breeds, blood traitors, children of filth! Mudbloods! Freaks! Scum! All of you!"

Walburga's incessant screeching caused Hermione to cover her ears and run down the few remaining steps. She had stopped paying attention and before she knew it, she heard someone shout at her. "Petrificus Totalus!"

Hermione's whole body stiffened before dropping to the floor like a stone statue. It was then that the door to the dining room flew open, revealing a few of the original order members: Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and James and Lily Potter. Standing over her was none other than Peter Pettigrew. He must have been the one that hit her with the body bind curse. Sirius Black, who had grown tired of his mother's screaming, flicked his wand at her portrait to draw the curtains shut over her. "Pipe down you old hag! No one wants to hear your blood supremacist views!"

Once it was quiet, the figures in the room then turned their attention to Peter. James Potter, who was an exact copy of Harry save for his eyes that were hazel instead of green spoke up, looking at his friend. "What the hell Peter?"

The blonde had his wand trained on the floor where Hermione was as he glared at her. "Sorry, I know I'm late. You're lucky I was here to catch this rat before she could make her escape. I caught her listening in on your meeting."

The others nodded and turned to Remus who had an interesting look on his face. He recognized Hermione from earlier. James turned to him, "What is it Remus?"

"This is the girl that I ran into on my way here. She must have followed me," he admitted.

"Bloody hell Moony, I knew your senses have been off lately but you should've been able to pick up that someone was following you!" Sirius spat to which Remus shot the man a glare.

"And how should she have gotten here in the first place Padfoot?" Remus shot back. "I thought this place was warded off completely?"

"It is. No one that doesn't know the exact location or has ownership of the estate is supposed to get in." he explained.

"Well then, Sirius. How do you suppose she got in?" Peter asked, his wand still trained on Hermione's still form.

"Let's ask her," Lily spoke up from her spot behind James.

The boys all gave her a look like she was mental. She instantly waved them off. "Oh relax. She looks harmless. Besides, then we can ask her why she's here."

Before any of the boys could protest, Lily pulled out her wand and used the counter-curse on Hermione which let her body move freely. She had barely sat up before there were four wands pointed at her, ready to strike if she tried anything.

"Who are you? And how did you get in here?" Sirius questioned immediately, moving closer to her.

Hermione swallowed before she spoke. "My name is Hermione Granger. I was sent here by Professor Dumbledore, I'm loyal to the Order. I swear." she said, holding her arms up in surrender.

"Prove it." Sirius said.

"What?" Hermione asked incredulous.

"I've never seen or heard of you before. If you say Dumbledore sent you here and if you're truly loyal to the Order then prove it." he stated.

Nodding, she slowly reached into her bag and pulled out her copy of the _Tales of Beedle the Bard_ with the note from Dumbledore tucked inside it. Then she handed it to Remus who examined it thoroughly. Once he had finished his assessment of the letter, he lowered his wand and urged the others to do to same. Hermione relaxed a little now that their wands weren't pointed at her anymore.

Then he passed it around the room for the others to read. "So you're from the future?" Lily asked her confused.

Hermione merely nodded. "Yes."

"And Dumbledore sent you back to alter events? So your future would be saved?" Remus asked her to which Hermione nodded in response.

"How far in the future are you from?" James asked out of curiosity.

"Twenty years. Where I'm from, it's 2000." she stated. Hermione wondered how Neville and the others were doing, if they were even still alive.

"You need to tell us everything," Remus said.

A quick glance at Peter made Hermione shake her head. "I can't. At least, not right now. I need to speak with Dumbledore."

"Can't you tell us anything?" Sirius pressed.

Hermione shook her head. "I'm sorry. I can't afford to risk anything right now. I've already risked enough by travelling through time to alter my future. If you knew everything, it would put my time in more danger than it already is not to mention you would be putting yourselves in danger. Surely you don't want that?"

"You're right. We don't want that. We'll just have to trust your judgement for now," Remus said as he exchanged glances with his friends.

"Thank you." Hermione said. She felt a little better but she couldn't shake the feeling that her getting caught already shifted things in the balance. She had to be more careful.

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**As always read and review! I am open to feedback and would appreciate it! Your support has been great and thank you guys for following my story!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 is finally here! I apologize for the delay, this chapter took me way longer to edit than I first thought because I had to change a lot of details to it. I hope you all enjoy and feel free to leave a review, I love feedback!**

_**Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its characters belong solely to JK Rowling. I only own the plot for this story.**_

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Chapter 5: Building Trust

**April 24th, 1980**

It had been a very long night to say the least. The Marauders wouldn't let Hermione out of their sight, not since she practically appeared out of nowhere, inserting herself into their lives and claiming that she was from the future. After they had found Hermione, James had sent an urgent message to Dumbledore, informing the wizard of the stranger they had caught trying to listen in on their conversation. About an hour after James sent his message to Dumbledore, the old wizard replied using a patronus, disclosing to them that he had a couple loose ends to tie up at the Ministry and that he would arrive as soon as he was able.

Everyone was sitting in the parlor rather anxiously as they waited for Dumbledore to arrive. Hermione sat in a lone chair within the parlor while Sirius, James, and Lily shared one of the couches across from her. Remus kept his distance, leaning against the wall next to the fireplace while Peter sat closer to the young witch, his eyes trained on Hermione like a predator stalking its prey. Sirius at least had made her a cup of tea while they presently waited for Dumbledore to get there.

It felt like hours had gone by before there was a light knock on the door of 12 Grimmauld place. Remus straightened up after they all heard the knock. "I'll get it." he told the others before he exited the room to answer the door.

A few moments later he returned, Professor Dumbledore in toe behind him. The old wizard was clad in lavish robes that flowed out behind him as he walked. Upon his head was his usual hat and he was wearing his half moon spectacles. For that brief moment Hermione was at a loss for words upon seeing her old headmaster alive and breathing. It was a face, like many others that she never thought she would see again.

Once they had entered the room, Dumbledore's blue eyes landed on Hermione, who was now sitting straight up in her chair, nervously fidgeting with her hands. "Ah, so you must be the young witch who was caught listening in on a rather private conversation?" he asked, a small smile forming on his lips.

Hermione nodded and stood, feeling that standing was more appropriate. "Yes Prof- sir. I'm Hermione Granger."

Dumbledore politely bowed his head, "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Granger. James has told me you have traveled quite the distance?"

Sirius scoffed from his place next to Lily and James on the couch. "Yeah, she claims she's from the future. It's a load of rubbish if you ask me- ow! What was that for?" Sirius whined as he glared at Lily who had just elbowed him in the side.

The redhead gave him a pointed look. "Knock it off." she whispered, her tone serious.

"Perhaps, Miss Granger, we should talk some place more private. Please, follow me." Dumbledore said as he began walking into the dining room, Hermione quietly following behind him.

Once they were inside, Dumbledore flicked his wrist to shut the doors behind them to prevent anyone else from entering. The old wizard then mumbled a silent spell under his breath, the muffliato charm to prevent the others outside the dining room from hearing anything that was being discussed from the inside. It was then that Dumbledore chuckled, a humorous glint in his eye.

"You'd think that after graduating Hogwarts that they would have matured some now that they're out in the real world." The old wizard sat at one of the table's chairs and sighed. "But children will be children I suppose,"

Hermione took a seat at the table as a small smiled crossed her features, thinking about how, in her time, Sirius was a grown adult that still acted very much like a child, even in some situations that were meant to be serious. That was just who Sirius Black was. Much like Fred and George Weasley, Sirius liked to lighten the mood and make everyone smile.

"Now," Dumbledore began as he folded his hands out in front of him on the table. "Mr. Potter told me in his message that you are from the future. Is this true?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes sir. Where I'm from, it's the year 2000."

"That's quite the time jump Miss Granger-" He began but was interrupted shortly after he started speaking.

"Please sir. Call me Hermione," she said.

The old wizard nodded in agreement. "Very well. Hermione, you seem to be a very bright witch. I'm sure you are aware that meddling with time can have dire consequences, especially with a jump this far into the past?"

The young witch only replied with a nod, and so Dumbledore continued, "What has brought you here, my dear?"

It was then that Hermione met his gaze as she spoke softly. "You, sir. You're the reason I'm here,"

At this, Dumbledore raised an inquisitive brow. He motioned for her to continue with his hand. "Please, continue."

Hermione reached into her bag and pulled out the copy of the _Tales of Beedle the Bard _along with the letter that Dumbledore had left her in her future. She handed him the two items for him to examine. As he was carefully looking the items over, Hermione spoke.

"As you can see in the letter, there's nothing left where I'm from. My future was destroyed at the hands of the Dark Lord, there's nothing left." she paused, looking at Dumbledore as she waited for him to say something, anything.

After a few minutes of silence, he finally spoke, though from where Hermione was sitting, she couldn't tell if he believed her or not. "I see,"

"If you don't believe me, you can cast legilimens on me-" Hermione blurted out, but the headmaster held up a hand to silence her.

"There's no need for such measures. I believe you when you say you're from the future. I can see it in your eyes every time you speak. However, it seems your future is in quite the predicament, Hermione." Dumbledore said.

"Yes, and things are only getting worse. That's why I followed the instructions in your letter and came back here. It's the only chance I have at saving my future," She said sadly.

Dumbledore nodded. "I presume that you still are in possession of the Infinitum Watch?" he asked her.

Hermione nodded, slipping up the sleeve to her right arm and showing him the watch that was firmly secured around her wrist. Ever since she had gotten hold of the watch, she refused to take it off and let it out of her sight, for fear that she would lose it or that the watch would fall into the wrong hands. "I haven't taken it off since I snagged it from the Ministry,"

"Good." Dumbledore stated. "Do not let it out of your sight. If such a thing were to fall in the wrong hands, it could be catastrophic."

Hermione nodded and pulled down her sleeve to cover up the watch as the room fell silent once more. The silence was almost comforting and Hermione felt a lot better knowing that someone believed her and that someone was on her side. Dumbledore spoke, pulling the young witch from her thoughts.

"I'm going to do everything that I can to help you, Hermione. The Dark Lord has eyes everywhere and if he knew of your presence here in this time, he wouldn't hesitate to track you down and torture you for information. You've made a big risk by coming here and you've also put yourself in grave danger." The old wizard said sincerely.

"I know." Hermione replied before looking up to meet Dumbledore's blue eyes. "But if coming here means that I can preserve and save my future, it's worth all the danger and all the risk."

Albus nodded and stood up from his seat, causing Hermione to do the same. "Very well. I will see to it that your arrival here from the future is kept secret. I will write to the Ministry in the morning to see that you are employed in one of their departments. Your presence here will look less suspicious if you are working at the Ministry."

Hermione nodded. "Thank you sir."

He gave her a soft smile. "Of course. Until we can find a more permanent place for you to stay, I would like you to remain here until I have arranged everything,"

Hermione nodded and Dumbledore opened the doors to head back into the parlor where the Marauders were impatiently waiting for the two of them to return. Out of the group, Lily was the only one that was patient, sitting on the couch and occupying herself with a book while the boys were having a quiet conversation in the corner of the room. They all looked up once they noticed Albus and Hermione walking back into the room to join them.

"Well?" Remus was the first to ask. Lily looked up from her book, closing it and setting it down on the couch next to her as they all looked at their former headmaster expectantly.

He held out his hand and gestured to the young witch standing beside him. "After speaking with Miss Granger, I firmly believe that what she's saying is true."

The marauders were still skeptical. Hermione could see that from the looks on their faces, though she couldn't blame them for not believing her. They didn't trust her and she knew that she would have to work to earn such a trust. Their trust was something she was willing to work for. She felt that it was the least she could do after practically crashing into their lives unexpectedly like she did.

"So what happens now?" Lily asked from her spot on the couch as she looked up at Albus.

"For now, Hermione will remain here and out of sight until I can secure the things she will require while she's here." He stated.

"Wait. You're telling me that she'll be staying here, in this estate?" Sirius asked.

Remus shrugged. "This is as good a place as any mate. You've got plenty of room,"

"Not to mention you love to entertain house guests," James added as he and Remus exchanged a humorous look.

Albus nodded. "I believe it's settled then." he paused briefly to look at Hermione. "I will write once everything is in order."

"Thank you sir." Hermione said gratefully.

**~HP~**

A few days had gone by since Hermione first appeared in 1980. She had started to settle in to staying at 12 Grimmauld place with Sirius even though her time there was only temporary. Since her conversation with Professor Dumbledore a few nights ago, she hadn't received any letters from him about working at the Ministry. She figured that he was still trying to work out the details so she wasn't worried. Lily had been kind enough to give Hermione some of her old clothing that she could wear until she was able to go out and buy her own things. Lily Potter was the only person aside from Dumbledore that seemed to be ok with the Hermione's unexpected presence into their lives and that made Hermione feel more at ease with everything going on.

The sun had set over an hour ago and Hermione was downstairs in the parlor, occupying her time by reading one of the books she found lying around the estate. Sirius wasn't home so she was enjoying the peace and quiet that filled the estate. The young witch was about halfway through the book she had found when she heard the front door burst open, the noise so loud that it echoed throughout the whole estate.

Instinctively, Hermione jumped from the couch and drew her wand, ready to defend herself if she needed. Slowly, she crept down the hallways towards the front door, gripping her wand so tight that her hand was visibly shaking, her heart feeling like it was going to burst out of her chest. Once she was close enough to the door, she could see Sirius' form lying in a crumpled heap on the floor as he groaned in pain.

"Sirius!" Hermione exclaimed, rushing to his side and kneeling down in front of him.

Upon closer examination, Hermione could see that all his muscles were very tense and twitching, like he had been tortured by the Cruciatus curse. While the curse itself didn't inflict any physical pain upon its victims, the curse simulated the most excruciating pain, a pain so great that it activates all the pain receptors in the body, making the victim feel like they're physically being ripped apart. Sirius' hair was matted and sticking to his face and sweat was dripping down his face. He was also hot to the touch and shaking rather badly.

Hermione reached her hand out and gently placed it on his shoulder. "I'm going to help you, ok? I just need to get you to the couch, but I need your help to get there. Do you think you can help me?"

Sirius nodded slowly and being gentle, Hermione carefully helped Sirius to his feet, letting him lean on her as he cried out in pain. He couldn't walk on his own and letting him go would just make him collapse back onto the floor. Going slow, Hermione guided them both to the couch in the parlor. Once there, she gently laid his body down onto the couch as he hissed in pain before settling down onto the soft cushions. After Sirius was situated, Hermione quickly went into the kitchen to make a cool compress and grab some potions that would help his muscles to relax. Walking back in the parlor, she gave him the potions to drink and placed the cool compress across his forehead.

Hermione sat on the edge of table and looked at him worriedly. "What happened?"

Sirius' body began to relax some once the potions began working in his system. He had his eyes closed as he breathed deeply. "My cousin happened. She ambushed me on my way back here. That foul witch, she would've killed me if I hadn't stunned her and apparated away as quickly as I could,"

The mere mention of Bellatrix made Hermione's skin crawl and her blood run cold. She could feel the scar on her left arm burning under her sweater. It was a constant reminder of that wretched day in Malfoy Manor after her, Harry, and Ron had been picked up by snatchers in the forest and brought there. It was one of the worst moments in her life that she wished she could forget.

Hermione forced herself to snap out of her thoughts and she looked back at Sirius. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Well all that matters now is that you made it out of there and that you're safe. Try and get some rest. I'll be upstairs if you need me," she said, lightly squeezing his shoulder before standing and beginning to make her way to the stairs.

However, Sirius caught her hand before she could get too far as his eyes snapped open. "Thank you, Hermione. I don't know what I would've done of you weren't here,"

"You're welcome," she spoke softly.

"You know, I was skeptical when you first arrived completely out of nowhere claiming to be from the future. It all seemed like nonsense and I didn't want to trust you. I tried really hard not to. But tonight you helped me, you healed me. I like to think that that's a good start to building trust." he said sincerely.

"Thank you," Hermione said. "I'm glad I could help. It's the least I can do since you're putting up with me living here until Dumbledore can find a more permanent place for me. While I'm building trust with you, I don't know if I'll be able to do the same James and Remus. They're even more hesitant about me being here than you are."

"I'm sure it'll work out soon enough. I do have one question though?" he said, looking at her.

"What's that?" she said.

"Did Bella, my cousin, do something to you? In your time in the future, did she hurt you and your friends? Is that why your eyes grew dark and your hands started shaking at the mention of her?" he asked her. So he had noticed when she had spaced out upon telling her what had happened to him.

"I think that's more than one question Sirius." Hermione said sadly, averting her gaze to the floor.

"Please just answer them," he pleaded, adjusting his position so he could make himself more comfortable, though he winced a couple times as he did so.

"Yes." Hermione answered, her eyes glued to the ground. "In my time, she killed a lot of my friends. She also tortured me with the Cruciatus curse and left me with this scar." she said, rolling up her sleeve to show the word _Mudblood _that branded her skin.

Sirius stared at it for a minute before he looked at her. "Hermione, I'm so sorry-"

She quickly rolled down her sleeve again and shook her head. "It's fine, don't apologize. It's just something I try to forget. Now get some rest, you need it,"

He nodded in understanding. Sirius wanted to know more about Hermione's future, but he knew that now was not the time to press. "Okay,"

"Thank you," she spoke softly. She gently squeezed his hand and gave him a small smile before disappearing up the stairs. Sirius leaned his head back on the couch pillow and let out a long sigh, closing his eyes. Within minutes, he was pulled into a deep sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi everyone! I'm so sorry it took so long to get this chapter published. With everything going on in the world right** now,** life is crazy. I hope you all are staying safe during these wild times and I hope you enjoy this new chapter.**

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its characters belong solely to JK Rowling. I only own the plot for this story._

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Chapter 6: A Day Out

**April 30th, 1980**

Hermione hadn't slept much the night Sirius had been attacked. She had been too busy going back and forth from her room to Sirius on the couch to make sure that he was doing alright and that he wasn't in any pain. Sirius had been sound asleep every time she came down to check on him throughout the night and while deep down she knew that he would be just fine- she still worried. Hermione was well-aware of the effects that the Cruciatus curse could have on one's body and mind for she had heard about it with Neville's parents and had even experienced it for herself. The effects of the curse were not something to be taken lightly. So once the sun finally dawned over the horizon and Sirius began to stir awake and his eyes adjusted to the light, he spotted Hermione sleeping in one of his over-sized armchairs across from him. She had her legs tucked underneath her and her head propped on her elbow as her body rested against the chair's arm. She looked peaceful and so Sirius was going to try his best to not disturb her.

Slowly, Sirius shifted himself onto his elbows so he could pull himself into an upright position. However, the potions that Hermione had given him the night before had long since worn off which meant that his muscles would still be sore and taut. So when he attempted to move himself so he would be able to sit up, his muscles constricted-sending a stab of pain throughout his chest and abdomen- forcing him to wince and squeeze his eyes shut as he took a sharp intake of breath through his nose. The pain he was feeling caused him to pause what he was doing as he willed for his muscles to relax. Before he got the chance to move any further, he felt a cool hand touch his shoulder.

"Here, let me help you." Hermione's soft voice said. Being as gentle as she had been the night before, the young witch guided Sirius into an upright position. Once he was in a position where he was sitting up, Hermione placed a soft pillow behind his back so he would be comfortable before she urged him to scoot back so he could use the pillow to support his back.

"Sorry," Sirius apologized and he scooted himself back the few inches it took to reach the pillow, wincing in discomfort as he did so. "I didn't mean to wake you."

Hermione gave him a small smile as she sat down on the edge of the couch next to Sirius. "It's alright. I was only dozing,"

"Were you down here all night?" Sirius asked, using his head to motion to the chair he had seen her sleeping on only minutes ago. There was a half-empty glass of water on the table next to the couch as well as one of the many books from his library open to a marked page. There was also a blanket discarded on the arm of the chair where she had been resting.

"Sort of." Hermione replied. "I couldn't sleep so I figured I'd stay down here in case you needed anything,"

A cheeky grin spread across Sirius' face. "Checking up on me were you?" He teased as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her.

She merely rolled her eyes in response. "Oh stop that. I was worried is all," she said as the smile she had began to fade. "I know what the Cruciatus does to people. I just wanted to make sure you were ok,"

Sirius gave her a grateful smile. "There's no need for you to worry Hermione, I'm fine. A little sore and stiff but fine. I promise," A moment of silence passed over the two of them before the wizard spoke again. "Why don't you go get some rest? If I need you, I'll call for you. Ok?"

Hermione opened her mouth to protest but quickly closed it when she saw the pointed look that Sirius was giving her- indicating to her that no amount of arguing with him would convince him to let her stay. Reluctant as she was, she gave in to his request. "Alright. But at least let me brew you some tea and give you another potion to help ease your muscles before I go. Please?"

Sirius nodded, prompting Hermione to stand before walking into the kitchen to make him some tea and get him another potion for his pain. Rummaging though his cabinets, she was only able to find one more vial of the potion she was looking for. She would have to make a trip to the Apothecary shop in Diagon Alley to replenish Sirius' stock of potion vials. Hermione hadn't realized how many of his potions she had used up the night before in trying to help him. Then a random thought crossed her mind: _Wolfsbane Potion_. If she recalled correctly, the potion wasn't invented until around the year 1984. She knew how important the potion was for werewolves like Remus who had to undergo unbearable and excruciating pain every time they transformed during a full moon just to not remember any of the things they did because they couldn't control their wolf forms. Figuring since she had to go to the Apothecary shop anyway, she would buy the things she needed to brew the complex potion. If she could give Remus this one thing, then maybe- just maybe he would begin to trust her and that would make her job here in this time a little easier.

The young witch was staring out the small kitchen window when she was pulled from her thoughts when the kettle on the stove began to whistle loudly, indicating that the water was hot enough for tea. Removing the kettle from the stove, Hermione poured some of the water into a cup that was filled partially with tea leaves. She waited a few moments for the cup of tea to cool before she picked it up along with the potion vial and began walking back to the sitting room. However, she stopped just outside the doorway when she heard multiple voices coming from inside the room. Upon further inspection, she was able to distinguish the different voices of the other marauders. They sounded angry with Sirius; angry that he had stood them up for their weekly guys' night out.

"Where were you last night Sirius?" Peter was the first to ask among his friends. "We had all the fun at the pubs without you."

"Sorry about that boys," Sirius said as he moved to turn his body on the couch and plant his feet on the floor so he could properly look at his friends, though every move he made caused him to grimace. "I was a little occupied last night. My cousin decided to show up unannounced as always."

Their brows furrowed in confusion as they all frowned. "Bellatrix? What could she possibly have wanted?" James asked.

"Oh, I don't know Prongs. My guess is she wanted to kill me!" he snapped, slightly annoyed that his best friend would ask such an obvious question.

"Sorry Pads," James said apologetically.

It was then that Hermione finally decided to walk into the living room. In her hands she carried the cup of hot tea and the vial of potion that Sirius would need to replenish his strength and help his muscles relax. Silently, she set the cup down on the table in front of Sirius before she sat on the arm of the couch, watching to make sure Sirius drank the potion. Once the potion was gone and Sirius had swallowed the vile-tasting liquid, he tried to sneakily pour some Firewhiskey into his tea. However, Hermione snagged the bottle from him before he could get the chance.

"Hey! Give that back!" He protested, reaching to grab his alcohol back but Hermione kept it out of his reach.

"You can have this later. Right now you need to build back your strength." Hermione shot back. She was acting like his mother and if the other marauders hadn't been so confused about what was going on, they might have been amused. Sirius just pouted and raised the cup of tea to his lips and began taking a drink.

"Bloody hell Sirius, are you shagging her?" Remus accused out of thin air. He didn't understand how his friend could be so amiable with Hermione. He was letting her take care of him too, which he didn't like all that much.

Remus wasn't normally this agitated or ill-mannered when it came to Sirius or his friends but he didn't understand how Sirius could be so friendly to Hermione after her only being in their lives for less than a week. They still didn't know the first thing about her other than her claims that she was from the future. Dumbledore may have believed her but Remus was still skeptical of her story. It just seemed too farcical for him to believe that what she was saying was the truth. He also didn't like that Sirius seemed to be putting his trust in the witch, considering what was going on in with the Wizarding World, not to mention Remus was certain that Hermione had her own motives for being there. What those motives were, he didn't know, but one way or the other he was going to find out.

Sirius-who had been in mid-drink when Remus spouted off his comment- choked on his tea as the hot liquid spilled over the side of the cup and went all over him as he broke into a coughing fit. Hermione sent an icy glare towards Remus for making such an accusation. "For your information, I just so happened to save his life last night while you three were off gallivanting like morons." she snapped, folding her arms over her chest defensively.

"Is this true?" Remus asked aloud, turning his attention to Sirius who was still trying to clean up the tea that had spilled all over him.

"Yes. Hermione just happened to still be awake when I apparated in. She helped save my life when she didn't have to. I'm glad she was here because without her I'd probably still be on the floor going mad. I owe her my life," he explained as he leaned back against the couch, giving Hermione a warm smile as he spoke.

The other three marauders were silent but only briefly before James spoke, scratching the back of his neck. "Well, then I'm glad you were here. Thank you for helping him," James said to Hermione, his voice sounding sincere.

She merely nodded, changing the subject before any of them could get another word out or ask anymore questions. "Well, if you lot are done yelling at Sirius, I need to run to Diagon Alley and pick up more potion ingredients. I used all of what Sirius had stored,"

"I thought we had an agreement? If I took my potion and let you brew some tea, you would finally go and get some rest?" Sirius protested.

She shrugged. "Sorry, but you need ingredients to be able to brew potions. Besides, I need to get some stuff anyway. It'll be good to get out for a bit,"

"Fine. But if you think I'm going to let you go alone, you're gravely mistaken." He said, forcing Hermione to glare at him. Sirius continued anyway. "It's getting too dangerous out there with the the Dark Lord and the Ministry for you to be going anywhere alone. You remember what Dumbledore said and so I would feel more comfortable if one of them went with you," Sirius suggested, pointing to his three friends. Hermione just clenched her jaw and huffed irritably.

"I'll go with you." Remus spoke up, forcing everyone's attention to turn to him.

"I think I'd rather go by myself thank you very much." she said snippily. Hermione was still rejecting Sirius' suggestion for one of the other marauders going with her. While she understood why Sirius didn't want her to go alone, Hermione was tired and while her exhaustion was no excuse, she wasn't in the mood to be babysat while she shopped for a few potion ingredients.

Moony plastered the fakest of smiles on his face before speaking in his calm voice. "Oh no, I insist. You heard what Sirius said, it's too dangerous. Besides, I need to pick up a few things anyway."

"Fine." Hermione said with mild irritation. The marauders were almost worse than Harry and Ron by how annoyingly persistent they were on things- _almost_. Standing from her place on the couch, Hermione walked to where Remus was standing, holding out her hand for him to grab. He just stared at it confused.

"What are you doing?" he asked, confused.

"We're apparating. It's the quickest way to get places and if you don't want to get separated, you'll take my hand." she stated bluntly.

Remus sighed, grumbling under his breath. "Fine." He said as he reluctantly took her hand before they both apparated to the Apothecary shop in downtown Diagon Alley.

Once they landed in Diagon Alley, Remus let her hand fall before he swallowed the bile that had worked its way up his throat. He still wasn't completely used to travel by apparition and so he turned nauseous and pale whenever he traveled that way. "You're still not accustomed to apparating, are you?" Hermione asked him.

The color began to return to his face after a moment and so Remus took a deep breath and ran a hand through his messy hair. Then his eyes focused on Hermione as he spoke with an icy edge to his tone. "What ever gave you that inclination?"

"Oo, someone has a bit of a temper." she pointed out.

"I don't have a temper." Remus claimed as he straightened out his clothes. "Apparating just isn't my favorite,"

Silence washed over the two of them briefly while they stepped inside the Apothecary shop before Hermione spoke quietly. "Why did you insist on being the one to accompany me here? You could have just as easily let James or Peter come but instead you volunteered. Why?" She asked curiously.

When Remus didn't make any notion to speak, she continued. "I know you didn't come because you wanted to or because you wanted to be my friend. You came because you wanted to keep an eye on me because you don't trust me or anything about me."

"And how could you possibly know that?" he inquired.

Hermione merely rolled her eyes and scoffed. "I'm not blind. It's clear that you and the others still don't trust me, even after I saved your friend's life. It's quite insulting, considering I didn't even get a proper 'thank you' from anyone else besides Sirius and James."

"Saving his life doesn't prove anything. For all we know, it was just a ruse to make us believe that you're one of us." Remus said as they walked through the aisles of the Apothecary shop, Hermione putting the ingredients she grabbed off the shelves in the basket she held on her arm.

"I'm not the vile person you think I am, Remus. Just because I have secrets doesn't make me some criminal. I'm sure you have your secrets too, but no one questions their trust for you." She snapped as she glared at him before returning her gaze to the items stocked away on the shelves in front of her. "Sirius and Dumbledore believe me, so why can't you?" she asked rather coldly.

Hermione didn't even give him the chance to answer and eventually grew silent as they walked through the shop, the young witch looking for one last ingredient she needed. She already had enough ingredients to restock Sirius' cabinets at 12 Grimmauld place and so the only thing she needed was Aconite to be able to brew the Wolfsbane potion for Remus. She was mad and Remus knew it by the way her jaw was set in a tight line as he followed behind her through the shop. Hermione knew she was in a sour mood and a large part of it was due to her exhaustion from not sleeping the night prior. However, she wasn't about to stand idly by as Remus continued to berate her and insult her as if she were some evil spawn that was working for the Dark Lord. She had done that with Ron on more than one occasion in her own time and she wasn't about to let it happen here in this time. After a few minutes, she finally located the Aconite leaves she was looking for.

"Is that Aconite? What ever in the world do you need that for?" he asked casually, their argument from earlier still on his mind.

Remus knew he was being awful to her and so despite the fact that he still didn't trust the young witch, he decided that he would try to be kinder to her. He thought that perhaps a kinder approach would allow him to gather more insight on her motives and whether or not what she said about being from the future was true. While Remus trusted Dumbledore's judgement when it came to these kinds of matters, Remus wanted to be able to judge for himself whether or not Hermione was worth his trust.

"It's for a potion I learned in my own time. I want to see if I can still brew it properly," she stated, not looking at him as she placed the bottled Aconite leaves in her basket and walked to the front counter to purchase all the ingredients in her basket.

"But Aconite is extremely toxic. If it's not handled properly, it can kill you or the person who drinks the potion-" Remus explained but Hermione was quick to cut him off.

"I'm not an idiot, I know how to handle Aconite. I'll be fine," Hermione said as she placed all the ingredients that she had purchased into her handbag that had an extension charm placed on it. "For someone who doesn't trust me, you sure seem to care a lot for my well-being," she blankly pointed out with a slight smirk on her face. Her mood seemed to have improved slightly and Hermione didn't seem as angry as she had been by the way she was teasing him.

Remus instantly became flustered, which made Hermione want to laugh as they stepped out of the Apothecary shop and into the busy streets of Diagon Alley. Before she could tease him any more, she spotted a few figures walking suspiciously down the rows of shops from the corner of her eye. Upon sparing a glance in their direction, her heart sank and dread pooled in her stomach. Based on the dark robes they wore and the impassive looks on their faces as they whispered to each other and began reaching for their wands, Hermione knew who these men were. Instinctively, she grabbed Remus' sleeve and tugged him with her into a nearby alley.

"We need to get out of here, now." she said firmly, though there was an air of fear in her tone that Remus picked up on.

"What? Why?" he asked her, clearly confused.

"Did you see those men dressed in dark robes walking down the street, not buying anything? They're Death Eaters, Remus." she stated. Remus would have thought she was toying with him if he couldn't see the evident fear in her eyes or hear the dead seriousness in her tone.

In the midst of the First Wizarding War, very few people knew the real identities of Death Eaters because they never took their masks off nor was the Ministry able to catch them. Death Eaters were also very bold as they would attack the public during the daylight hours at times when they knew the streets were busy with people, much like they were doing right now. The only reason Hermione knew about these Death Eaters in particular is because she recognized their faces as she had encountered them in her own time.

"Are you sure?" Remus asked her, peeking his head around the corner to steal a glance at the figures still coming down the street.

"Yes. I encountered them back in my own time, they're not Death Eaters you mess around with." she said nervously.

"Then we have to stop them before they kill anyone-"

It was already too late. Screams began to fill the once lively streets of Diagon Alley as people started sprinting down them frantically as multi-colored curses shot out of people's wands. The ear-piercing sounds of explosions could be heard coming from every direction and a short time after the screaming began, the Dark Mark etched itself into the sky, darkening the once sunny atmosphere. The chaos of it all brought Hermione back to the Battle of Hogwarts, the final battle that they had lost. Being in the center of a Death Eater attack pulled her head-first into the dark memories that she had thought she buried. Countless memories of that day as all of her friends- _her family- _were killed in front of her. She could feel the tears pricking her eyes as that fear and deep sorrow she had felt that day creep back into her body and hit her like a hurricane.

Frantically, she grabbed Remus' arm, her nails digging into the skin under his shirt as she held his arm like it was her lifeline. When Remus looked at her, he could see the fear behind her eyes. He could feel Hermione's whole body trembling as she held onto his arm in a vice-like grip. "Remus, please. We'll get killed if we stay here. Let's get out of here, let's leave. Please," she begged in a voice barely above a whisper.

Upon seeing her reaction to the Death Eater attack and seeing how it was affecting her, he gave into her request. Wrapping his other arm around her body and holding Hermione close to him, they apparated away. By the time the Death Eaters checked the alleyway, Hermione and Remus were gone.


End file.
